K. Silverman et al., INCONGRUITY BETWEEN OCCUPATIONAL INTERESTS AND ACADEMIC SKILLS IN DRUG ABUSING WOMEN, Drug and alcohol dependence, 40(2), 1995, pp. 115-123
This study assessed the occupational interests and academic skills of
50 patients of a center for addiction and pregnancy. Patient ratings o
f 31 occupations showed that a subset of ten occupations (telephone op
erator, cosmetologist, mail clerk, data entry operator, child care wor
ker, receptionist, office clerk, word processor, billing clerk, secret
ary) were of interest to significantly more subjects than other occupa
tions (P less than or equal to 0.05). Most of the desired occupations
were office jobs requiring basic skills not possessed by most study pa
rticipants. Although participants had completed a mean (range) of 11 (
8-15) years of education, their mean (range) grade levels of reading,
spelling and arithmetic were estimated at 6.9 (0.8-12), 6.8 (1-12), an
d 5.7 (2-11.8) years, respectively. These data suggest that the study
participants will need basic skills training to achieve their occupati
onal goals. Importantly, patient ratings also indicated that most part
icipants were interested in receiving the needed training. Overall, th
e study suggests that provision of basic academic skills training may
improve the long-term employment outcomes of these drug abusing women.